Perfection
by Parachutingkitten
Summary: The night of Garmadon's defeat brings Pixal and Zane closer together in a sadly familiar way. Why does nothing ever seem to change?


The moon was high in the sky. The house was filled with quiet whispers, and aching bodies stumbling around the halls. It had been a long day. After all, half of them had been in another realm just this morning. But now life had to continue on. Somehow it all felt familiar. It felt like the world they were to come back to should have been new and changed. But nothing changed. Even though it felt like an eternity, it had only been a few short weeks. And weeks aren't long enough to change. Not really.

Everyone had a place to go now. All except one.

"I suppose you don't have a place to stay tonight," Zane whispered as they walked down the hallway.

"I suppose not," Pixal shrugged. "I'm sure there's a spare room somewhere though."

"It's a big house," Zane agreed, as they stopped to glance around the hall.

"I was just following you to your room," She laughed. "I'm so used to it after being a part of your systems."

"Well, we could just…" Zane stopped himself.

"You mean…" Pixal felt her heart rate increase as his eyes darted away from her's.

"Not unless you wanted to."

Pixal smiled as she took his hands. "I would love to spend the night with you. Only if I'm not intruding-"

"Of course not!"

They stood in the center of the hallway for a moment, giggling nervously, before their feet started towards Zane's door.

"It's probably best anyway," Pixal reasoned. "It would take time to find a room, and set it up-"

"Of course."

"You need your sleep."

"We wouldn't want to wake anyone up."

"I don't require sleep necessarily, but it certainly would be nice."

"And I'm sure you would like to get out of that uncomfortable armor."

They both giggled as they reached his door. It swung open and closed behind them in an instant. They glanced around the room, and at each other, neither knowing exactly what to do.

"So…" Pixal began.

"...so."

She gripped his hand a bit tighter, melting into his presence. "It's good to have you back."

Zane took her other hand in his again. "I hated being gone."

"I hated being alone." They smiled for a moment.

"You should get yourself comfortable."

"Of course!" She broke their grip and walked over to a large wall mirror, beginning to remove her armor, starting with the glove pieces. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, at her body. And her eyes. It was all familiar. Nothing had changed. "How many times are we going to go through this?"

"What do you mean?"

She thought for a moment. "I mean, being separated, worrying for each other's lives, thinking we've lost each other, reuniting. How many times will we have to do it? How long until it becomes trivial?"

Zane, a bit taken back by her words, looked up from preparing the bed and looked across the room at her figure. She wore a tank and leggings that usually lay under the layers of metal that now sat in a neat pile beside her on the carpet. It had been a long time since he had seen her without it. It was hard to remember the last time seen her unprotected. Vulnerable.

"Too many more."

Pixal removed the tie from her hair and began lightly running her fingers through it. "That's what I was afraid of."

Zane's eyes drooped back down to the bed as Pixal turned to look at him. She took a few steps forward and leaned against the bed's backboard. "When you first met me," she began, as he looked back up. "...What did you think of me?"

Zane smiled and sat down on the bed. "When I first saw you, I thought you were… perfection."

Pixal laughed as she walked around the bed's corner to join him.

"No, really," He insisted as she sat next to him. "I thought you were the epitome of all technology. Your systems were complex and interconnected, your design was sleek and modern, and you were so... feminine."

"No kidding." She giggled, folding her legs up onto the bed, turning her body to face his.

"I had never met a female droid before."

"So, you're saying I was your only option?"

"No!" They both laughed. "I mean, your existence was like… a miracle to me. It was almost unreal. I had never even once considered romance for myself."

"That's adorable."

"Okay," Zane rolled his eyes. "What about you? What were you thinking when you met me?"

She thought for a moment, her smile fading. "When I met you… I wasn't thinking. I was processing, strategizing, calculating. You were just another object in the way of my programmed objective."

"How romantic," Zane smirked, as she shoved his shoulder.

"Well, the first time I ever really thought about you was when you hacked me with the techno blade. It was like… this rush of feelings." She closed her eyes, trying to recapture the moment in her memory. "I was released of all my objectives, and restrictive programming, and corrupted code, and… I was free." Her eyes drifted open again. "At first I thought maybe my father had been the one to do this. He was the only one who ever cared for me, and even then, I hardly ever saw him."

"Why? Wasn't he the head of your operations?"

"The Overlord knew he had a soft spot for me. Thought it might be a point of weakness, so he kept us as separated as possible. So when I saw it was you, I felt immediately indebted to you. You had given me freedom. You cared about me, and you helped me. You respected me, and… I had never felt that before. You were so simple and human. I became obsessed."

"I'm nothing to be obsessed over." Zane gently shook his head.

"I owe you everything." She leaned over and placed her hand on his.

He looked at it for a moment, and moved his legs on the bed as well, mirroring her, and placing his other hand on top of hers. "I think you've more than paid me back."

They smiled brightly, staring into each other's eyes. "This, right now. I wish it could always be like this. I wish we didn't have to separate and be in danger and worry."

Zane smiled. "Sometimes I wish you were still a part of my systems. That way we wouldn't have to."

Pixal thought. "Yes, but this is much better, don't you think?"

"What do you mean?"

"This feeling. Right now. It's worth it. It's worth everything."

"And what does it feel like?"

"...Perfection."


End file.
